LONDON (Reuters) -British consumer confidence edged down in November but remained in its narrow range of the past six months, a survey showed on Friday, in contrast to other data that has shown more weakness ahead of finance minister Rachel Reeves’ budget next week.
The GfK consumer confidence barometer, Britain’s longest-running survey of household sentiment, dropped to -19 from -17, slightly below the -18 forecast in a Reuters poll of economists.
The reading is the joint-lowest since May. But it is some way above April’s reading of -23, the joint-lowest in more than a year following an increase in many household bills that month and U.S. President Donald Trump’s imposition of import tariffs.
Neil Bellamy, consumer insights director at GfK, said he regarded the figures as “a bleak set of results as we head towards next week’s budget” and that “the public is bracing for difficult news.”
Reeves is likely to need to raise 20-30 billion pounds ($26 billion-$39 billion) through higher taxes due to an expected growth downgrade from the government’s budget watchdog, higher borrowing costs and a U-turn on planned welfare cuts.
The GfK survey showed a three-point fall in households’ willingness to make major purchases – potentially a concern for retailers ahead of Black Friday promotions next week and the Christmas trading season.
The survey of 2,003 people took place between October 30 and November 14.
(Reporting by David MillikenEditing by William Schomberg)
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